Domestic Problems

Within the martial machinery of Army organisation there existed an elaborate system to protect the rights and interests of the common soldier. It has been said that a court martial gives the accused a fairer hearing than any other court of justice. In addition, there was machinery to help the soldier face domestic problems. If he heard of difficulties in his home in New Zealand there were ways of making official inquiries, and the soldier might be excused duty while he attended to these personal matters. In extreme cases he could be sent home on compassionate leave.

This system was good and the intention was excellent, but in the exigencies of war many a man facing trouble was uncertain of his legal rights and timid in making inquiries. This was where the chaplain could help. He would visit men awaiting court martial and help in getting the right man to act as the Prisoner's Friend. He could find out for the prisoner the answer to certain legal questions which affected his case, and he could, on occasions, appear at the court martial and testify to the prisoner's good character. If the man was convicted and had to serve a prison sentence, the chaplain could still keep in touch with him by letter or personal visit, and when he was released it was often possible to help in his rehabilitation. The chaplain might respectfully suggest what unit the man should be sent to, and then make sure that he received sympathetic treatment in that unit.

But crime and its consequences were not the only problems a soldier had to face. Letters from his family at home might bring news of death, serious illness, or unfaithfulness. The soldier then page 82 needed advice and immediate sympathy for there were occasions when such a letter caused a man to attempt suicide. At first a man felt powerless to do anything, for the distances were so great and the Army seemed so inhuman. The wise soldier talked it over with the chaplain, who would listen sympathetically and help in various ways. He would first try to comfort the man and strengthen him to bear the bad news; then he might have a confidential talk with the man's commanding officer and make sure that he was treated kindly and given time to deal with his affairs. Finally the chaplain helped in practical ways. Sometimes a wisely written letter could avert a domestic tragedy, or at least delay it till the soldier could deal with it in person at the end of the war. At other times the break seemed final and all the distasteful proceedings of divorce had to be faced. Many chaplains said that they dreaded the arrival of mail for it brought so much bad news. A broken engagement may be a small thing as the years roll by, but, at the time, to a soldier serving far from home, such news may be overpowering in its pain; and hundreds of engagements were broken. As a chaplain tried to comfort a man he often longed for the chance of some straight speaking with the wife or fiancée in New Zealand, though it must be admitted that marital infidelity was by no means confined to the wives.

The best regulations and the finest laws cannot cover all the difficult cases, and the chaplain felt free to approach the authorities direct and submit that some individual deserved special treatment. For example, owing to the acute shortage of shipping, it was laid down at one time that those going on furlough could go to no other country than New Zealand. But if a man had all his family in London, and if perhaps they had been bombed out in the blitz, it was quite reasonable to suggest that in this case the regulation might be relaxed. The chaplains were impressed and delighted by the painstaking care and thorough investigation that all such cases received.